


Who Wants To Live Forever?

by Libika



Series: Amor Vincit Omnia [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, M/M, POV Victor Nikiforov, Queen Songs, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8811997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Libika/pseuds/Libika
Summary: I will always love you, I will stay by your side in sickness and in health, until death do us apart. And though our bodies will perish and decay, my love for you never will. You made flowers bloom within my heart and gave me more love that I deserve. Yuri, when I saw you skating that day, you took my breath away. I will never be thankful enough to you, my dear, my darling, love of my life.The past, the present, the future. No matter how much they aged, each day felt like heaven.





	

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT PLEASE READ FIRST :  
> \- Victor and Yuri are soulmates with glass hearts (as in, literal glass hearts) Hearts made of glass that break and have vines wrap around them when they're deeply hurt and flowers blooming inside when they're with their soulmate.
> 
> \- 80% of the dialogues and some passages are directly quoted from Queen songs. The fic is partly a tribute to the band. The playlist is here, in order :  
> https://play.spotify.com/user/realm-of-spells/playlist/12ViwafEyMBIyfIuO3JYdO  
> \- The song that Yuri uses for his program at the end is Kyoutenka or Heaven's Mirror, composed by Motoi Sakuraba. You can easily find it on Youtube.
> 
> Please folks, keep in mind that English is not my native language!

_In this life and in the next._

_In the past, the present and the future, my love for you will never wither._

_In this endless daydream,_

_I'll always think of you and you'll think of me,_

_When I am by your side,_

_It's as if I never age._

_And god you make those flowers bloom within, and it's like I was breathing again._

 

 

 

 

 _'_ The pain will make you crazy, too much love will kill you every time Vitya...' There they were in the snow, Victor with his suitcase in one hand. In this moment, Yakov knew that that stopping his student from going away would be pointless. Ever since he met this man at the stadium, his student hadn't been the same. He still wanted to try. He didn't want his son to be hurt again. Victor had suffered enough, and so did he. 'You're headed for disaster, because you never read the signs.' He was harsh, he knew he was, yet he loved his student like his own son and wanted to protect him. Yet, when he looked at the man standing in front of him, he felt older than ever.

 

'Too much love will kill me just as sure as none at all, Yakov. I have to go.'

 

He didn't know why Victor suddenly wanted to leave Russia.

 

_He came back from a walk around his neighborhood. Makkachin following suit. He felt weak. He had lost his passion for skating, even Yakov commented on it. He was just so tired. The vines had grown and grown and grown all around the pieces of his broken heart. He still couldn't forget about this man whose name he didn't even know. He never asked Yakov or Yuri, he didn't want to be assaulted with questions. These last few weeks went by slowly and he was tired of it. Every time he skated, he felt like something was missing, something important. He had heard Yakov talk about it with the others. What his skating lacked. What he lacked, what he hadn't felt in years._

 

_Love._

 

_Passion._

 

_He didn't know how to find it again. He needed someone, something. He resumed his training as the vines grew and grew all over the shards, and grew and grew..._

 

He put his suitcase on the ground, moving towards his coach.

 

_Victor came back from his walk, Makkachin right behind him. He was tired. 'I'm headed for disaster, Makkachin.' He sighed as he sat on the sofa, his dog's head resting on his lap. 'I'm just a shadow of the man I used to be..' He wanted to find love again. He wanted to feel this pain, this bliss, he wanted to find his soulmate, he wanted to find that man he saw at the last Grand Prix. This man who almost brought him to his knees with a single look. God, he wanted to hold someone again. He wanted to kiss and be kissed in return, he wanted to yell on rooftops how much he loved someone. Yet he was a coward. He didn't want to get his heart broken again._

 

_He called Yakov, and his coach told him the same thing as usual._

 

_'I'm just the pieces of the man I used to be, Yakov. And I've been facing this alone for much too long...No one ever told me about growing up and what a struggle it would be.” His heart hurt so much._

 

_'Victor, calm down.' He knew that his coach must be busy with the others, with Yuri and Georgi and Mila, yet he was the only person he could talk to. He had no mother, no father, no brother but he had Yakov. He always had Yakov. He was a man but a child._

 

'You've done so much for me Yakov. I'll always be indebted to you, but I- I found it again.' And Yakov knew that nothing would stop his student. The light had returned to his eyes. He knew that now, his fragile son had grown and found hope again. He found _him_ , the person he was looking for and the love he had lost. This overflowing passion he had when they first met – God how could he ever forget such a day? - when Victor wasn't yet the legend he was now.

 

_'Can I be your student?' Yakov was still lecturing one his youngest skaters – a young boy named Nikolai – when Victor approached him. He had seen this child come to the rink with his mother a few times, and he could see that this boy had a lot of potential. The way he moved on the ice – this natural grace but most of all this love for the sport was obvious – with the right training, this child could become an amazing figure skater. Yakov smiled at the boy's boldness. He stopped lecturing Nikolai, before kneeling in front of Victor._

 

_'And what your name be, young man?' Victor gave him a brilliant smile, and while Yakov would never admit it, his heart melted on the spot. He would never admit it. Never._

 

_'My name's Victor, sir!'_

 

_'Alright Victor. You can start training as soon as your mother agrees.' He pointed a finger towards Victor's mother, who was sitting on one of the benches, carefully watching over her son. He couldn't help but chuckle at Victor's reaction. He screamed so loudly, everyone looked at him as if he was high on sugar, he skated as fast as he could towards his mother to ask her. He was done talking to her in less than a minute. He quickly ran back to see Yakov._

 

'Too much love will kill me, just as sure as none at all. You always told me that one day I would regret loving too much.' The snow kept on falling , never stopping.

 

 

 

Yuri always loved it when it snowed so much. After feeling so down, he suddenly wanted to skate again, to pour his love on the ice.

 

_Gliding on the ice, he could almost feel Victor by his side, holding him in his arms. He knew he couldn't do justice to Victor's routine, yet – a perfect landing and the sound of skates on ice – he had to. He knew that Victor was the one, yet he'd never have him. So just for now – the vines grew and grew – he followed the music. Oh you could hear nothing. It was pure silence, and silence was more than enough. All he needed was his body. His lips, his hands, his legs, his body was enough to create music. He skated for love and for Victor. They would never be on the ice together, yet he wanted to believe – for now, a simple, brief moment – that they were together. That this hand holding his own was there to stay and never leave. He raised his hands towards the sky as the singer's voice became louder, and louder in his head – and he never stopped praying – please give me just this moment, this one moment of happiness before tomorrow arrives._

 

_He knew that his prayers would never touch Victor._

 

_Yet, he kept on skating and making flowers bloom for his love._

 

He wanted to cry, to laugh and smile and scream and yell his love on rooftops. He let his tears flow as he skated – like an angel gliding on the ice – as he flew.

 

 

Victor couldn't help the tear that rolled down his cheek.

 

'I am torn between the lover and the love I'm leaving behind, uh...' He said it to himself, still under the snow.

 

'Vitya, are you sure you want to do this? To leave everything behind, after all you've done?' _After all you've sacrificed. I don't want you to be hurt again._ 'Stop this nonsense and stay here. The show must go on, Victor.'

Victor smiled. How has it been since he last heard those words? _How long I wonder..._ Victor embraced tightly his old coach, planted a kiss on his cheek. 'I used to bring you sunshine, now all I ever do is bring you down...I'm so sorry, but can't you see that it's impossible to choose?' _There's no making sense of it, Yakov. If I'm going to die, might as well die because I loved too much. I have to find him, he needs me and I need him._

 

_He didn't know why he clicked on that video. Oh scratch that, he knew. He finally found that man again. The video was completely silent – save for the sound of skates on ice – and- he was speechless. This music – he could hear it in every move, in every smile, in every touch and in every cry – the way Yuri, such a beautiful name, skated. And there it was. There it was. He could feel the flowers bloom – small rosebuds and lilies and God, someone make it stop because it was too much – he didn't cry, too smitten by the man's grace. Yuri showed so much love on the ice, Victor saw this love in every gesture – he could hear the music within the silence – this passion that he had lost. The lights on his body – the way he spoke without speaking – this was magical. Just like him, Yuri stretched his arms towards the camera – Victor wondered how these hands would feel around his body, those lips on his, but everything in due time, everything in due time - and Victor was smitten. He was utterly smitten. He wanted to replay this video again and again – he knew he wouldn't get tired of it._

 

_He found him at last._

 

_In the silence, he hear a thousand notes and a thousand words._

 

_He was shaken beyond words, beyond what music could express._

 

_And for the first time, his heart felt at peace, yet this love – oh god it was like a storm, a hurricane hitting him , he was speechless – this dance. He felt like he was seeing a routine different from his own, something better, so much better._

 

 

Yuri was mortified to learn that the video had been posted. He was scared – what if Victor saw it? Would he know? would he realize? - beyond words. He didn't know what to do. So many people had viewed the video already. He could feel the vines grow and grow and grow – a few rose buds there and there, not quite in bloom yet but soon – and god if he could, he'd rip his heart out. If Victor had seen the video... He didn't even want to think about it. _'Too much love will me. I just want to scream and crawl.'_ He hugged his pillow tightly.

 

He just wanted to sleep and never wake up again.

 

 

Victor wrapped his arms around Yakov. He could almost feel someone else embracing him – _a crushing embrace, the rosebuds and vines, a love found and yet not found yet –_ never wanting to let go. Was it Yuri? Was Yuri thinking about him now? The thought alone – to know that someone is thinking about you – was enough to make him smile, even if just a little.

 

 

The next thing he knew, he woke up to snow and the sound of his mother's laugher.

 

 

_It's draining the power that's in me, makes me to scream and crawl, and god, the pain is making crazy – why did he want to smile then? - he had to go to him. He had to show the entire world this love that can only be expressed through limbs and eyes. Yuri was so beautiful, skating silently yet in sync with the music before creating a song of his own. There was no return possible. He's made up his mind. Maybe he'd have another chance at love. Yuri was the one, he knew he was. Be it the flowers blooming in his chest, or some sort of hunch, he knew._

 

_Yuri was a part of his soul._

 

_The part he had thought long gone and forgotten._

 

 

'This is goodbye, Yakov.' He tightened his embrace briefly, before taking his suitcase and heading towards his cab. He didn't want to look behind him or pay attention to Yakov's lecture. It would make the whole thing even more painful than it already was. And even though he was in pain – those flowers covering glass shards, slowly making him whole again – he grinned, a genuine almost boyish smile, for the first time in years.

 

 

 

_'Starting from today, I'll be your new coach Yuri. I'll help you win the Grand Prix Final.'_

 

 

_*_

 

 

_'Another party's over and I'm left cold sober.' He remembered all his failed romances, trying to find mister right. There he was at the hotel's bar. 'I just to be intoxicated with that special brew.' The bar's dim lights, the faint sound of the piano and the glistening chandelier hanging on the ceiling. Yakov right next to him. When he had told him he wanted to drink a little, Yakov hadn't said anything at first. Instead he decided to accompany him. He told Victor again and again to be careful with his love affairs. This boy – for his student would always be a child to him – never learnt his lesson, and he probably never would. Victor, the champion who would always drink his sorrow away._

 

He had promised himself to stop feeling this melancholy blues. But everyday, he felt this ache in his heart. Ever since he saw that man at the last Grand Prix. This man who had turned around as soon as he talked to him. They had never met before. Their ways had never crossed before. He just didn't know why he was so taken by him. A shy, probably younger, skater. _A single look. A single look was all it took for him to know._ There he was, on his sofa with Makkachin's head laying on his lap. His head still hurt from drinking so much the night before. Yakov had driven him home, and he couldn't be more thankful to have such a coach. He just didn't know would have become of him if Yakov hadn't been there for him all this time. His head hurt. His heart hurt.

 

He felt the shards slowly being covered in vines, and he couldn't take it.

 

Why did love have to hurt so much?

 

_'I don't wanna talk about it. 'Want to forget about it...' He was in one of his moods again, except this time it was worse than usual. Victor was shaken. Something happened, yet he didn't want to talk about it. He was there and wasn't at the same time. His soul was far away, and while he couldn't see his heart, he knew that something – just what? - had happened to it. Victor did tell him that it wasn't shattered, but that it 'to hurt like hell'. This was just like a few years ago. When he lost both his mother and got cheated on by his boyfriend. It hadn't been the first time, and hadn't been the last._

 

_'Baby left me for somebody new...' Putting a hand on Victor's shoulder, Yakov sighed. Whenever this melancholy affected him, he'd always remember one of his lovers. Those faceless men and women who ended up leaving him. And every time they did, a part of Victor's heart broke. None of them had been the right one. And thank God. If one of them had happened to be Victor's soulmate, his heart would have been completely and utterly shattered. He just sat there, watching Victor go on and on about his pain and how much he missed his mother. How much he wanted to find somebody to love, yet no one wanted to love him._

 

_'They are all in love with the me on the ice Yakov!'_

 

_Cheeks red and his voice an intoxicated slur, Victor looked miserable. He was drinking glass after glass and even the bartender wondered whether or not he should stop him. 'Sir, maybe you should-'_

 

_'I just to be intoxicated with that special brew...Don't expect me to behave perfectly and wear that sunny smile' Yakov let him speak, because it was all Victor needed for now. He would regret it tomorrow. And so would his head._

 

_'I don't know Yakov, just let me get in that sinking feeling that says my heart is on an time low...' Victor took another sip. 'When I saw him, it hurt so much Yakov. It lasted for less than a minute. I thought he was a fan, so I told him if he wanted a photo...but god, what am I saying?' He knew what was coming next. Victor started to sob loudly, wrapping his arms around his coach and cried his heart out. Yakov silently returned his son's embrace, silently reminding himself to call a cab once Victor is done crying._

 

Victor's head hurt at the memory. He knew he should stop drinking so much when he feels sad, or melancholic, but sometimes these special brews were the only things that made him forget about his pain, about his mother, about love altogether. He quietly patted Makkachin, as the rain fell outside. He wondered how this man was doing. Was he also feeling melancholic today? Was he thinking about someone special to him? Did he lose someone close to him? Too many things. He just wanted to feel better. He had almost forgotten what love felt like – did it always hurt so much? - _Yes._ It makes you melancholic, it makes you sad and just don't want to do anything all day.

 

He just sighed.

 

He didn't want to think, so he let his mind travel for a while. He wondered how his mother was, wherever her soul was now. He wondered if she'd feel proud of him. He wondered if his dad was with her, if they were both watching over him. If they were, they probably wouldn't be happy to know that their son drunk himself to oblivion the night before.

 

He closed his eyes and simply took a deep breath.

 

 

 

He had always dreamed of meeting Victor. For him the man was akin to a god, someone you could admire from afar and yet never reach, no matter how hard you tried. When he finally became a professional figure skater, Yuri thought that it would change, that he would stand on the same rink as his idol. And yet, the last few months, his life had been a series of failures. He lost competition after competition, he lost his confidence as time went by, and he lost Vicchan. Even today, days after his last failure, his mind was elsewhere. His mother would ask him to pass the salt, he'd pass her the water bottle. He didn't listen to anyone, and he felt completely lost. Meeting Victor had turned out to be the worst day of his life.

 

Whenever his mother tried to talk to him, he'd just disappear to his room, a simple _'Don't wanna talk about it, just want to forget about it...'_ said in a whisper. In his little heaven made of his idol's posters. He missed having Phichit with him, the man always a reassuring presence beside him. He never asked questions, he simply would always offer a gentle smile, a soothing hand and comforting words.

 

 

_He couldn't help but stare._

 

_There he was, the man he had been dreaming of meeting since childhood, in the flesh. Yuri didn't know how his heart managed to survive the encounter. Every beat revealed a new crack to him, every beat reminded him of how damaged it was, broken yet never shattered. He had always hated his heart, this thing made of glass that broke at a simple word. When his eyes met Victor's, when he heard Victor ask whether or not he wanted to take a picture, he heard this horrible sound again. The sound of glass falling on the ground, high-pitched and heard so many times._

 

_Another part was broken._

 

_Again._

 

_He didn't know who he was. He didn't even know his face, he thought he was just another fan. He was a face among thousand of others. Another crack. When Yuri met Victor for the first time, he knew. He realized who Victor truly was, but Victor didn't. And so he left the room. He left the stadium, and never wanted to enter it again._

 

_He just wanted to lose himself in music and forget about it._

 

_'I just wish they would just let me take over with my melancholy blues...'_

 

He hugged his pillow. Eyes closed and vines growing among the glass shards. When he was a child, he remembered telling his mother how great it would be if Victor turned out to be his soulmate, his mister right. And now, he was starting to regret ever wishing for it. Now more than ever, he wanted to skate, to lose himself in the music made by skates on ice, hands and legs moving. Yet he didn't have the strength. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after or the day after. It was tiring not to know and it was exhausting to know. His eyes tightly shut, he let the tears flow and the shard be covered.

 

_Them holding the other in their arms. A kiss shared and an embrace returned. Sweet words and laugher in the midst of all this blue. A spark and a splash of colors. A piano heard in the distance – they moved in sync with the music – glistening like stars._

 

 

Victor couldn't stand feeling like this. He took his coat, put on his shoes and his sunny smile. Makkachin barking as he saw his master heading outside. 'Don't try and stop me, cause I'm heading for that stormy weather soon big boy.' He kneeled and pinched his dog's cheeks. He would be lost without this big boy. 'Watch the house for me, okay?' he planted a kiss on Makkachin's head, before heading out. How cold it was outside. It wasn't snowing yet, but soon enough, it would. He was glad the streets were empty at this hour. He still could feel the vines grow around the shards and they kept on growing, he feared he might forget how to breathe at all.

 

'I'm permanently glued to this extraordinary mood...' he just was so tired. Melancholy always came to him when he didn't want it. Oh, what an endless source of inspiration it was. Yet feeling it reminded him of his years as a young boy.

 

_'Vitya! Be careful on your way to school!' A quick kiss on the cheek, a hand ruffling his hair. He was a child, his long hair falling like a pool of stars on his shoulder. He always refused to cut it, to his coach's dismay and his mother's pleasure. He loved having his mother braid it or play with – my little star, my precious boy, how he longed to hear those words again – it felt like a natural weight on his shoulders. His mother would always pepper his head with kisses, her lips leaving red marks on the silver strands and Victor loved it. For him, his mother was a magical creature, a queen who could make red flowers bloom on his hair._

 

_And he lost that magic, that childish wonder._

 

He shook his head.

 

_'Vitya...your hair is so beautiful. It's like hundred of stars.' Victor almost choked on his coffee. They had been dating for a month now, Nikolai and him, and he would sometimes says these things out of the blue. He couldn't help but let pink roses bloom on his cheeks – yet he could feel new flowers, yellow mingling with orange and this slight pain as they grew around his heart, covering the little cracks there and there – all of this was still new to him. It hurt so much. Was it supposed to hurt this much? Maybe Nikolai wasn't the one, but this didn't mean they couldn't be happy together. He let Nikolai play with his hair – yet not without catching a glance at the cafe, he didn't want anyone to see them – closing his eyes and revel in this feeling, this bliss mingled with pain._

 

_Nikolai waited, making sure no one would see them, before briefly kissing Victor._

 

_Another crack._

 

_Why did it hurt so much? Why did kissing him have to hurt so much?_

 

He tightened his scarf around his neck.

 

“Bloody hell.” _Stop hurting. Just stop. That wasn't love. That wasn't love._

 

 

 

He liked it best when his neighborhood was empty like this. No one to talk to him, no one at all. Only the sounds of his footsteps and cars passing by. One step, two steps. One, two, three. One, two, three. He needed to move. He had to dance. Dance his sorrow away. Dance his love away. It hurt way too much to feel such an thing.

 

_His mother held his hand, spinning him around. His hand seemed so small clasped in hers. His mother seemed so tall and ever more beautiful than she usually was. She was a goddess. Faster and faster – another woman now, and another man – blue all around, surrounding them._

 

He kept on dancing and running through the darkness. Streetlights like stars.

 

_'Vicchan! Come here you good boy!' The little dog_

 

 

Yuri ran outside, without warning his mother. He just had to. He wanted to move. He needed to find a way to clear his thoughts. He didn't need music to dance. No one outside – just a few notes from the wind, his feet moving – he was alone. Blue all around him. He knew the streets like the back of his own hand. He closed his eyes, allowing himself a little daydream, even if he would come to regret it afterwards.

 

 

_A kiss. A little fantasy he indulged himself in._

 

Victor rarely allowed himself to daydream – he always thought of love, of his memories – yet for once, he thought it wouldn't hurt. Faster and faster. He imagined himself skating on the ice. No audience. No music. No crowd nor noisy journalists.

 

Victor grinned for once.

 

Tomorrow it would hurt, but tomorrow was not today. Tomorrow wasn't now. Tomorrow was another day of night, so he'd enjoy the sun for now.

 

 

Yuri smiled.

 

 

_Victor held him on the ice, guiding him through difficult jumps and spinning him around. They laughed like silly boys and danced all night long. And such a dream made him want to cry for he knew it would never happen. 'I wanna be intoxicated with that special brew, so come and get me...' God, he knew that it would hurt tomorrow, but now he didn't care. Love was such a sweet poison, he knew that whoever this man was, he was the one. And he didn't know his name._

 

Victor laughed.

 

_It hurt so much not to know who this man was. It hurt so much to know who was this man, who planted those seeds inside his heart before running away. He felt like they've known each other for years, for centuries._

 

And just a second, Victor forgot about his melancholy blues...

 

_'I hope our paths will cross again.'_

 

 

_**The past and the present and the future, all of it mingling.** _

 

 

 

 

_ 'find me somebody to love _

 

_'Can anybody find me somebody to love?' There he was, sipping on his glass of champagne during the after party. The room was lit by chandeliers – illuminating an impeccable marble floor -the guests were all drinking and talking, and god there was no music. ' He was talking with Yakov, but paid no intention to his words. His mind was elsewhere. For some reason, he kept looking at Celestino's student – Yuri was it? - who seemed to down one glass of champagne after the other. He didn't seem to want to stop. And soon enough, when glasses weren't enough, he just downed the bottle. He heard the music change – violins and sad pianos being replaced with upbeat guitars and cheery drums. And the whole room lit up._

 

_'find me somebody to love'_

 

He still thought about it as he walked back home. He could feel the vines break and new flowers – gloxinias and lilies and roses – being planted instead.  _ 'Everyday I die a little, I can barely stand on my feet. God I look terrible.'  _ He was tired, he felt like he couldn't live or love anymore. Yet, this man at the party woke up something he thought asleep forever.  _ 'I've gotta get out of this prison cell, I ain't gonna face no defeat.'  _ He had to find this man again. Because this was way too much. He felt like he needed to drink until his stomach couldn't take it. It's as if vines were growing around his body.  _ 'Come on Victor, pull yourself together. You work hard everyday of your life, and god this was what I was missing all along.  _

 

_'find me somebody to love'_

 

_ Suddenly, he started dancing in the middle of the room. Victor couldn't take his eyes off him. He was drunk to the point of no return, and danced with no shame, no limits. He just kept on looking and taking pictures to remember such a sight. His rosy cheeks and wide smile – the way his feet moved on the dance floor, he leaped, almost flying - and soon enough, everyone was looking at him. Even Christophe couldn't contain his excitement – god who knew dancing and drunkenness could be so contagious, so intoxicating – he joined that man on the dance floor, they held each other and soon enough, they spiced things up.  _

 

_He couldn't contain his laugher._

 

_'find me somebody to love'_

 

_Another flash._

 

_And before he knew it, the man was dancing with Yuri. He could wholeheartedly say that he was smitten. He moved without a care in the world. He just joined him on the dance floor. He didn't know how they came to dance together. And quite frankly? He didn't care. He didn't know who this man was – aside from the fact that he was Celestino's student and was drunk beyond belief – but god, the way his body moved and his eyes shined. He heard the guitar get louder and louder – the sound of the drums and flashes, he felt like a rock star – and there they were, dancing some sort of chaotic tango._

 

_'find me somebody to love'_

 

'God, where have you been all my life?' He was washing his face, looking as tired as usual – yet nothing makeup couldn't hide – and for the time in years, he could feel this love again. Oh he had lovers in the past. Heartbreaks as when he was younger, but in the end, he always came back to his first love. The ice that he loved so much. Yet this man he met at the party, Yuri, made him discover so many things in the short span of an evening. He wanted to find him again. He wanted to seduce him. It was only natural to return the favor. He just wanted to grin until his mouth hurt. Victor could feel small, almost noticeable buds within the vines and for a moment, he could feel the ache in his heart diminish.

 

He felt Makkachin licking his hand.

 

_ 'Can anybody find me somebody to love?' _

 

He just raised his dog in the air, embracing his dog and spinning him around like he was a princess.

 

_ They played the game of love – they danced around each other, teasing and smiling – Victor didn't know what he was doing, he just went with whatever Yuri wanted. As he was held, Victor felt so at ease. It was as if he had always been in his arms, as if he belonged there. He never had so much fun in his entire life. He was a boy now. He was just a boy, he was no legend. He didn't want the music to stop. He didn't want it to stop. A hand stretched out – fingers intertwined, the smell of champagne and cologne – legs moving on and on, and God. He didn't want the music to stop at all, he wanted to dance all night with this lover boy.  _

 

_'find me somebody to love'_

 

_The one who conquered his wrenched heart and brought life to this party. He was dazzling – all rosy cheeks and smooth moves – and Victor just wanted to be swept away. Take me now, never let go._

 

_'find me somebody to love'_

 

_Love and life, this drunken man thought him that. He was absolutely smitten. He wanted to dance until dawn with him. He was swept away – a hand holding his back, another holding his leg, the smell of cologne and champagne – and god that dazzling smile._

 

Who was he kidding? This was true love. Even in the past, he always felt those vines and painful flowers – those you never wanted to be given – and now, he could only feel sunshine. And though the pain would come back tomorrow, he didn't care. He just didn't care at all. He didn't know if this was love, but the way Yuri's eyes sparkled and how he moved...they just touched him in a way nothing else before ever did. He would soon feel the pain of the vines, and years of heartbreaks and lack of love. He would soon return to a lifeless state, cursing the heavens above, but for now, he was the happiest boy on earth. 

 

Even though he was swept away by this player, he'd find him again. And he'll seduce him this time.

 

_'I'll find you again. And i'll become your coach.'_

 

 

_*_

 

 

_Deep breath. Deep breath. He felt like he was a man lost at sea – one wave short of a ship wreck – he was going mad. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe, and God, those sounds were unbearable. He kept hearing sounds of broken glass and high pitched screams and god it was going to make him lose his mind. He kept hearing his mother's voice, telling him that his dog was dead and I'm so sorry dear, I had to tell you as soon as I could. He couldn't skate like that. He couldn't. I can't breathe. What is going on? What am I even doing? 'I feel like I'm missing that one final screw...' The whole world was but a blur – a terrifying blur – he just wanted to get out of there._

_His legs hurt. His heart was breaking. He just wanted to go home. He didn't want to be there anymore._

 

_'It finally happened, Celestino. I feel like I'm going mad.' The sound of glass falling on marble. Again. And again and again. He knew the results. Celestino was trying to console him, but he couldn't hear his voice._

 

'Yuri, you can cry as much as you want, I'm here for you. I'm here for you.' Phichit was holding him tightly, smoothing his hair and never letting go. Yuri wrapped his arms around his friend's waist – crying and crying and crying and sobbing – he could barely breathe. _'I'm going slightly mad. This is too much Phichit.'_ He couldn't stand seeing his friend like this, so he just strengthened his hold on him. If Yuri needed help, if he needed a shoulder to cry on, he'd give him that. Yuri had done the same for him many times. He'd made him laugh and smile when he missed him and he'd do anything for him. _I'll stay by your side Yuri, even when your heart inside is breaking, i'll be here for you._ He kissed Yuri's forehead.

 

He wondered if friendship could make flowers bloom.

 

If it could, he'd give a thousand flowers to Yuri.

 

If he could, he'd stop the vines from growing and his friend's heart from breaking. They weren't lovers, he didn't love him like that, but he loved him so much.

 

'Phichit...' _I don't think I can do this anymore._ Phichit silently embraced him through the storm, through the tears and failures. He knew that soon, Yuri would soon be leaving, and he could feel the cracks forming on his own heart. He could hear the sound of glass falling on the ground. 'I can't believe I failed so badly, it's just- Vicchan died and I got so nervous today, and -' he couldn't speak anymore. Phichit noticed that he was burning. His sore was sore, he kept on crying over and over again, and his whole body was burning. He put a hand on Yuri's forehand.

 

'Yuri, you're coming down with a fever. You need to rest, please.' He helped Yuri lay down on his bed, covering him with a blanket. 'I'm going to make you some tea, it'll calm you.' Yet before he could leave, Yuri grabbed his hand. He sat next to him.

 

'Can you hold my hand just for a while?' _Voice breaking, heart breaking and body crumbling. How many times had he seen Yuri like this?_ 'Thank you so much Phichit...'

 

He tightened his grip on Yuri's hand, used his other hand to push back his hair and plant a kiss there. _I can't mend your heart, my friend, but I'll help you. I'm always here for you, Yuri._

 

'Anytime Yuri. Anytime.' He laid down, next to Yuri and holding his hand. Some times, other skaters would question their closeness, thinking that they were lovers. They loved each other dearly, this much was true, but their weren't lovers. _I still feel like I'm going slightly mad. My heart is burning, I feel like I'm lost at sea._ Phichit let Yuri wrap his arms around his waist and rest his head on his chest. The faint sound of Phichit's clear heart, and the warm embrace made him welcome sleep with open arms. His friend sang him a sweet lullaby – not mending his heart, not quite – soothing his tired soul and calming him.

 

 

 

' _I'm going slightly mad Yakov. I don't know if I can do this anymore. I nail all my jumps. I win all the medals. Ever since I gave up on love, on life, I feel like I'm going slightly mad.' He was working himself to the bone, he knew it all too well, and yet, he just couldn't stop. If he didn't practice, he felt like he was slacking off. He didn't want to think of anything else than skating. He wanted to stay on the ice all the time. He didn't want to think about his life or lack thereof. Yet he constantly felt those bloody vines, and he wasn't the man he was, he probably wouldn't be able to move at all on the ice. The shards, the vines suffocating him, wrapping themselves around his legs and arms. He just want some love. But it's been such a long time since he thought about it. Heartbreaks, work, more work, working on his image, cutting his hair, not crying anymore._

 

_He wanted to yell, scream, take his heart out and smash it on the floor and go, he felt like he was going stone cold crazy. Slightly mad. This anger, this pain, this sadness, this lack of love, this lack of life – each jump made him feel like he was on fire, no passion, simply pure undiluted pain and anger – and god this frustration. He didn't want to think about it anymore. Work. Work more. Until you're perfect, until you've forgotten about the heartaches. Until you've forgotten about your failures. Yakov knew that trying to stop Victor would be pointless._

 

_He just hoped that one day, someone could._

 

 

'Don't hear!' Victor cupped his face. He couldn't hear anything except his heart breaking. He just wanted to leave this place, he didn't know if he could do it. 'Even if you're one wave short of a shipwreck, don't hear anything! The show must go on Yuri!' He knew he had to go on the ice soon. _'The temperature is rising, I can't breathe. I just can't.'_ He put his hands on Victor's. I have to go soon. _I don't want to go._ In this moment, Victor could almost see his younger self. He didn't say anything. Yuri was on edge. He didn't know what to do. Aside from the one thing he thought would push Yuri to pull himself together. He was mad to think of such a such a thing. He knew he was going to regret it, surely he was, but this was the only thing he could think of. _'I am so sorry Yuri, but I can only think of this.'_

 

_Shattering his heart._

 

_He didn't know if Yuri would even survive it. It would either make him stronger or completely wreck him. If would either make his heart stronger afterwards or turn it into dust._

 

_Simply put, it was sink or swim._

 

'If you mess up this free skate and miss the podium, I'll take responsibility by resigning as your coach.'

 

_Glass breaking._

 

_Glass falling on the ground...he expected to see this. To hear this._

 

 _Yet Victor felt something else within Yuri. No this couldn't be._ He looked at Yuri crying. He thought he had completely shattered his heart, yet he could feel the flower buds between them.

 

'Why would you say something like this, like you're testing me?' _Yuri you know I would never do that, I just –_ 'I know that you would never do it! I'm used to being blamed for my failures, but if I mess up this time, because I'm too anxious, it will also reflect on you!' _Yuri, please calm down. Should I just kiss you?_ 'Just have more faith in me, Victor! Just stay by my side!' _Crying and yelling. And this was how he realized that Yuri was so much stronger than he ever was. I feel like I'm going slightly mad. God it finally happened. It finally happened. He knew it the moment he laid eyes on him at that party. The moment he saw him after the Grand Prix Final._

 

_'Yuri, I'm so sorry for making you cry. I don't know how to be a good coach, I don't know how to be a good lover, I don't know how to be a good friend. I don't know how to do any of this. I've forgotten how to do this. So I hope that you'll give me the time to learn. I want to be by your side forever. God, I feel like I'm going slightly mad.'_

 

_Buds being planted every time he held Yuri's hand._

 

_He wondered if one day they would bloom into something beautiful._

 

_But then again, everything about Yuri was beautiful. His laugh, his tears, his music, his heart, his body and soul._

 

_'Victor, you idiot. I feel like I'm the one going slightly mad. God, the face you were making was priceless. I wonder if I can surprise you. No. I will surprise you, even more than you have surprised me. Maybe I'm slightly mad, just like you.'_

 

_We're both going mad._

 

 

_*_

 

 

_The falling snow, the falling strands of hair, the loss of flair and the end of a love affair. He couldn't fail. He had to win, he had to win. He could hear Yakov's voice outside, amidst the roar of the crowd. They all came here to see him, the living legend, the hero. He could hear the screams of love mingling with those of hatred. He knew he'd never be able to stay like this forever. But now was different. Now he wasn't a boy anymore. There were other performances before his own, he still had time. He still had time. He couldn't stay calm, his heart beating faster and faster and faster, as if it could burst anytime. It was unbearable, and just before a performance, this was way too much for him to handle. He was tired, he was exhausted, if he could, he'd retire on the spot and never go on the ice again. He knew that he was still so young, so beautiful._

 

He held Yuri while he was stretching, a hand on the heart, a hand on a thigh. Roses wrapping themselves around their bodies. An endless daydream, this was what their life felt like. The past, the present, the future, they could see it all as they skated. _All the heartaches and failed romances, the melancholy blues._ They trained in utter silence, yet those touches spoke a thousand words. Yuri's hair had gotten longer – _sleek and divine –_ and Victor couldn't help but take a strand and kiss it.

 

And Yuri smiled once again.

 

_Another strand falling down. He kept on cutting with his scissors, again and again. He could feel his heart break, yet not shatter. He wished it could right now, this damned glass heart of his. He wished it could just shatter on the spot. If unconditional love hurt this much, he didn't want it. Victor didn't want it, he just wanted for it to disappear. It hurt so bloody much, his tears were ruining his makeup, it was way too much. He was losing this love he thought he had found._

 

_'Vitya! Come out of there right now!' Yakov sounded angry, but he could feel the worry, the anxiety in his voice. 'Whatever happened, you can overcome it Vitya! Don't you dare give up!'_

 

'You don't have to do anything! Just stay by my side!' Those words still resonating in his head.

 

_'Inside my heart is breaking, Yakov...' He tried to have his usual, bright smile, but that resulted in the smile of a broken man. He knew his coach wouldn't be able to be able to hear him. He didn't have anything to skate for now. The one he adored left him, the one who supported him left him, his love left him. What should he do? He didn't want to face this audience, impatiently waiting for their prince. He knew he still had some time left, but he knew. They were all waiting for him. The Russian prince, the living legend, Saint-Petersburg's angel. The lights were all lit up for him, the snow blessing him._

_'Outside the dawn may be breaking, but inside in the dark I'm aching to be free! I don't know if I can do it anymore Yakov! I am so tired of it!' That was it._

 

_'I am opening this door right now, Victor.'_

 

_Please don't. I don't want you to see me like this. He wished he could stay in this pleasant, dark room for the rest of the night. He heard the soft click of the door, the muffled sounds of the audience, the music playing in the distance. But most of all, he saw the light. Yakov found him by the sink, his back to his coach. But he knew Yakov could see his reflection on the mirror. He could see the tears, the broken smile, the red and puffy eyes. Yet what shocked him the most was the pool of silver in the sink. Strands upon strands of his beloved student's hair. Even if was annoyed by Victor's antics from time to time – not to say all the time – he loved the boy like his own son, even though he knew that he was no boy anymore. He was conscious that Vitya was an adult, but in this very moment, as he saw him desperately trying not to collapse on the spot, he was this little boy again. The one with incomparable talent, who cried when he won his first medal. Who once called him dad by accident._

 

_The one who'd inspire an entire generation._

 

_The living legend._

 

_He moved slowly towards him. He put a hand on Victor's shoulder._

 

_'Vitya, what have you done?' He grabbed both of Victor's shoulders, turned him. Now facing him, Yakov could see the damage. His long hair was gone. His bangs hid one of his eyes. The light makeup he had put on was ruined. He always knew what to do with Victor, but now he didn't. He didn't know how to handle him now, so he did the only thing he could think of. He wrapped his arms around him, as he would have done with his own son. 'Vitya, I know your heart inside is breaking. But never forget this. Your heart inside may be breaking, your makeup may be flaking, but whatever happens, your smile must always stay on.' Victor was still trembling in his arms. 'You have come so far Victor. If this man left you like this, then he didn't deserve you in the first place. And your mother would be so proud. So no matter what, Vitya, the show must go on.'_

_And for Victor, this was all he needed to hear. His mentor, his father. He never knew his own father, but if anyone asked him, he'd say that it was Yakov._

 

He may have never known his father, he may have lost his mother, but Yakov was always there.

 

_'The show must go on. Prove him wrong, prove your mother right. Win gold Victor. On with the show.' He tightened his embrace, before letting go of his student and grabbing his shoulders. Victor's heart was broken but it hadn't been shattered to pieces. The man he had been dating simply hadn't been the right one. 'Another heartache, another failed romance...' He whispered the words, still sobbing, but with a faint glint of hope in his eyes. Deep breath. Deep Breath. Calm down. Calm down. Like a mantra, he told himself this. Yakov used a handkerchief to clean his face and arrange his makeup. And as his coach did so, Victor felt like he had lost something. Another heartache, another failed romance but he had to find a way to carry on with the show. He was a living legend, and if the only love that couldn't hurt him was figure skating, then so be it._

 

 

_And as for his soulmate? 'Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance'. Yakov didn't say anything. He knew that by putting his love in a chest, Victor would come to regret it one day. He finished applying his makeup. His student was smiling, but something was missing. Yet, he could it. Determination. Stubbornness. His annoying student was still there. But as he looked at all those strands of hair laying in the sink, the pair of scissors on the ground, he could see that something was lost. And he didn't know if Victor would find it again._

 

 

He left love and life out of his existence for such a long time. Whenever he tried to find them, all he'd get was a broken heart.

 

 

_A hand around Victor's shoulder, they stepped outside of the room. 'Yakov, the show must go on, doesn't it?Then I'll face it with a grin. I'm never giving in.' He tried to be brave, he put on a smile as the audience sang his name. They sang his name, but as he looked around him, he could see the shocked looks and curious glances. Yet, they soon all thought it was another surprise. He heard their screams, the roar of the crowd. His smile still stayed on. He wanted to scream. Love could be so painful. So, so painful. And once again, there he was, his glass heart broken once again. Yakov had warned him. His mother had warned him. Georgi had warned him. They all did. But he never listened, and there he was, about to deliver a legendary performance._

 

_As he was standing at the ice rink's center, it was as if time itself had stopped._

 

_Silence._

 

_'I can fly. I can fly. I can fly!'_

 

_Complete, utter silence._

 

_He posed. The first note, the passionate violin._

 

_And there he was, spinning on the ice. He knew that his program was insane. No one in their right mind would choose to do four quads in their program, but then again, he was always full of surprise. He kept in mind what Yakov told him. The show must go on. Faster and faster and faster again! Spinning, a spread eagle...perfect landing. It was as if some sort of presence was guiding him through his routine, making him land his jumps perfectly every time. He didn't know what or who it was. It was as if someone was pushing him an holding him in place. He knew what he had to do. He would do what soon would become his signature move. He readied himself. The music was louder, louder, louder!_

 

_'I'll top the bill, I'll overkill. And I will celebrated as a king' he always would, he knew he would. He had a broken heart, and he was losing his love, but never would he lose this. Skating was all he had left. Yakov watched him from the sidelines, and his coach could see something break in Victor, yet not shatter._

 

_'I'll find a way to carry on with the show, no matter what!' He kept on gliding, surprising the audience again and again, he was a magician never running out of tricks for them. Oh, he knew that they would miss his long hair, his boyish smile and how full of love he was. But something broke. Another heartache, another failed romance, and it's always the same thing. They love the skater but can't stand the man. They want the beautiful body, they loathe the glass heart. He hated his heart, this wrenched thing made of glass. If his soulmate was still alive, if he was still there, how did he handle it? Would they even meet one day? At the moment, he just couldn't care less about it. He wanted to cry, he wanted to sob, and yet..._

 

_Strings, the piano._

 

_Glass breaking. A horrible sound. He heard it so many times already. Someone make it stop._

 

_The singer's voice. A combination spin._

 

_Him gliding on the ice. His style was more powerful than before, but he was exhausted. He knew that his body could take it, but his mind was tired. He was tired of it all. Skating was all that he had left. Faster – 'no matter what the show must go on, I have to carry on with the show!' - it was as if he was in a trance, he just couldn't stop skating and jumping, he landed another quad, surrounded by the crowd's cheers. And it would always be like that. He'd keep on surprising the whole world – footworks, perfect, he was embraced by sounds - he would be at the top of the world. 'I can fly, my friends!' and oh how high he could fly. A split. Another move. He'll reach the heavens and become a god. He already was a living legend. At this moment, on the ice, he didn't care that his heart was broken. He didn't care. He'd put his work first. He'd forget about love, about life, about all those glass shards._

 

_The show will go on._

 

_Until his body,_

 

_Until his heart,_

 

_Are shattered._

 

_A song's coda. His final pose, and there he was. His smile still on, and gold around his neck._

 

Victor's eyes snapped open. For a split second, he panicked, not knowing where he was. He then took notice of the sleeping man right next to him. Yuri was silently sleeping beside him, his face the face of peace itself. Victor couldn't believe how lucky he was. He loved Yuri so much. Words wouldn't be enough. No song, no poem, nothing would ever be enough. He was still shaken by his dream. No. It had been more than a dream. It was a memory, something he thought he had forgotten. Yuri's breath on his neck. He didn't want to think of it, yet the memory suddenly struck him like lightning. He kept on watching his love sleep, in the silent night. _A kiss, under the spotlights and flashes. Hands clapping and sparkles all over the ice._ He remembered their kiss, but also how he made Yuri cry. Time had passed, yet he still couldn't forget the pain, but also the joy he felt on that same day.

 

The kiss. The music. All of it.

 

_The yelling, the screaming. He could feel his own heart break, but Yuri's heart was almost shattered. That horrible sound. Victor couldn't believe he thought this would be a good idea. As Yuri was yelling at him, he couldn't hear a thing. It was all a blur – chaotic, painful, the mingling of sounds and tears and glass shattering and Yuri's voice and, and – everything. Until he heard those words._

 

_'Just stay by my side and never leave me!'_

 

And yet, in the end, it was Yuri who consoled him.

 

At the end of the day, Yuri was the one who took his broken heart and mended it piece by piece. With each touch, with each smile, with each move. With time, Victor felt flowers bloom among the glass shards. And before he knew it, he couldn't feel the shard anymore.He remembered what he said to Yuri as he had blocked his ears.

 

_'The show must always go on.'_

 

Maybe this was why he had such a bad dream. Those were the same words Yakov had said to him. He may have been a strict coach, but he was still an excellent coach. No one could ever replace him, be it as a coach or as a father. He still couldn't believe that he almost shattered Yuri's heart. He almost broke his heart to the point of no return, and the thought alone was enough to make him tear up. Love is bliss and pain at the same time. And as he looked at Yuri's face, he could feel both. Tears started to roll down his cheeks, as he held a strand of Yuri's hair in his hands. He was so thankful that the other was sleeping. He didn't want Yuri to see him crying.

 

_Why is Victor crying?_

 

Yuri didn't want him to know that he'd been awake since Victor woke up from his nightmare, but at the same time he couldn't let him cry himself to sleep like that. Feeling Yuri move, Victor started to panic.

 

“Victor...did you have a nightmare?” He didn't want Yuri to see him like that. He just didn't. Yuri sighed, before opening his arms. “It's fine if you don't want to talk about it today, or tomorrow or never. Just know that I'm here if you need me, okay?” He gave him a tired smile, and in this moment – just like every other day – Victor felt like he was falling in love again. For Yuri met him where he was. He let Yuri wrap his arms around him. He noticed how tightly Yuri was holding him. “Vitya, it's okay if you want to keep on crying. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere.” The tenderness of it all. The night's silence as he cried. Victor thanked his parents for letting him being born in the same world as Yuri.

 

_He was falling again. He hit his head on the wall – the pain, he knew he would be bleeding afterwards – yet he had to go on. 'I have to find the will to carry on! On with the show!' He could hear Victor cheering him up. It was not over yet. He was going to win gold at the Grand Prix Final. He was going to show the whole world how much Victor meant to him – triple axel, perfect landing and oh, such gorgeous footwork! - the show would go on, even if he was dying. He remembered the pain of each failure, of each tear, of each wound. So he knew he had to go on, he had to carry on with Show. For Victor, but most of all for him._

 

_As long as we're together, the show will always go on._

 

“If deep inside your heart is breaking, never forget that I'm here for you, like you are for me.” He briefly ruffled Victor's hair and kissed it again and again. Victor didn't know how Yuri did this. How even now his body created music even now. His heart – the faint sound of pieces being put together, of roses blooming, the touches – all of it. Victor buried his face in Yuri's chest, still crying. It broke Yuri's heart to see him like this, so small, so fragile and so he did the only thing he could. He kept on embracing him, through the tears and the pain, the sob and the screams, the bliss and the pain. “It's okay Vitya, it's okay. I've got you. I've got you...”

 

“Thank you Yuri...Thank you so much.” He felt like a child again, crying in his mother's arms. Yuri planted another kiss on his head.

 

_You meet me where I am. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my star._

 

“Anytime Victor. Anytime.”

 

' _Maybe I'll let my hair grow.'_

 

_'Please do.'_

 

 

_*_

 

 

_'If I could only make you smile, that would really be a breakthrough.' He knew that soon, it would be his turn to skate in front of the whole world. He was going to show his love to the whole world and to his imbecile of a coach. He just wanted Victor to smile. He was scared to death, but he knew that he could do it. He could do it. Crying had done him some good – eyes all red and puffy, Victor's shocked face – he felt ready. He couldn't help but tease Victor a little and pat his head like he did during practice. No matter what the show will always go on. He was not going to give up. Because he had Victor by his side. He'd show the world a performance they'd never forget. Victor should have seen his face. It was absolutely priceless._

 

_'Your face fills my mind, Yuri.'_

 

 _Yuri was the one and even if someone made him go back in time, he'd still choose him. In this universe or in another, in this life or in the next, he'd always choose him._ Ready to skate. Yuri was the one who gave him life and love.

 

Glitter, lights and action. The first notes of the piano could be heard and there he was, gliding on the ice. He was just following the music – god, he didn't even need to hear it, his body knew it by heart. He could feel his whole life flash before his eyes. _The sound of glass falling and breaking. The tears and heartbreaks. The vines strangling him and wrapping themselves around his heart._ Quadruple salchow and the applause. The sound of bliss. _He could feel this love, this love he could finally explain. 'If I could only reach you, Victor, that would really be a breakthrough.' The flower buds. Every time he glided on the ice, he planted those seeds. Camellias, lilies, roses, orchids, tulips._ He was going to make them bloom with a single move. He didn't know what kind of face Victor was making. He just hoped he was smiling. He just hoped that his feelings would reach him. They had to. He poured all his love on the ice. He'd make those flowers grow and Victor would understand.

 

A surprise like always.

 

'If I could only reach you, If I could only make you smile!'

 

'You're looking divine'

 

_He couldn't believe it. He made Yuri cry, and now, Yuri was the one who was consoling him and showing him this whole new world. Colorful. Dazzling. Fun. He was the one who should console and not the one being consoled. Yuri told him not to take his eyes off of him. Why would he even think of doing so? He couldn't stop looking at Yuri. The way his eyes sparkled, his rosy cheeks, his laugh, his smile, his music, his flaws. Everything was perfect. Those beautiful imperfections. 'You're touching something, Yuri. You're touching me.'_

 

 _Victor was beyond smitten._ Looking at Yuri was the same as looking at something divine. He was looking divine on the ice. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. _There, under the spotlights. No one but them could see the flowers on the ice, the ones growing within their bodies and soul. He wanted to yell and scream, because this was too much. Way too much. This was love. This is what love feels like, it crushes your soul, you want to tell the whole world about it._ So he let them grow and grow and – _oh god, Yuri those moves, the way you create music with a simple touch -_ he was out of this world. The violin. The piano. Camellias, lilies, roses, orchids, tulips. He could feel them all grow, would they finally bloom?

 

_This was the man he fell in love with._

 

_The one with the gorgeous smile, the bold moves and the beautiful soul._

 

_God, he knew Yuri was the one since he laid eyes on him._

 

Ina Bauer, lights and action. _'Somehow I have to make this final breakthrough, make my feelings known towards you.' He planted more flowers, he was going to surprise Victor, like Victor had surprised him._ Showing his Eros wasn't enough. He needed to do more – faster and faster, more graceful than ever – he was going to do it soon enough. He knew Victor could see the flowers, slowly growing and growing – _should he do it now? I will change this jump, I will make them all bloom and i'll reach Victor no matter what, I'll reach him! -_ he could almost feel Victor's gaze on him.

 

 _What is Yuri doing? This wasn't supposed to go like that._ He couldn't take his eyes off. Neither could the audience, the judges, the other skaters. _They_ _knew what was going on. This was a love that went beyond love itself. It was the god of love himself on the ice._ No one knew for sure what Yuri was going to do, but they knew that whatever it was, it would be beautiful. It would be stellar. The crescendo – their hearts, beating as one and the vines withering away – and the piano growing louder and louder, the frantic violin. It's as if a whole orchestra was the ice, and not a single man.

 

There it was, the final step, the final jump. A quadruple toe loop.

 

_Seduce me again Yuri._

 

_Seduce the whole world._

 

_He'd make those flowers bloom, for Victor, for the whole world, for himself. Faster and faster, I'll surprise you Victor._

 

_No quadruple toe loop but a quadruple flip._

 

_And that was it. Yuri's magic._

 

It happened all at once, Yuri falling on the ice. Quickly standing up. The flowers all blooming at once. A burst of colors. Camellias, lilies, roses, orchids, tulips – _the applause, the bliss, the pain vanishing_ – violets and orange blossoms. This was too much for him. He was glad no one paid attention to him – _crying, tears falling on the ground as Yuri kept on dancing on the ice –_ and almost all the vines withered away. He was grinning like an idiot, a blissful fool. Yuri surprised him again. All around them, all wrapped around them, flowers. More flowers, only beauty. Yuri was beyond delighted, he could feel this joy within every fiber of his body, his soul. Moving towards the coda – _he couldn't stop making more flowers bloom –_ he let his happiness show, his love being poured on the ice, a crescendo – hearts beating faster and being mended, flowers being planted _and growing faster and ever, colors all around them._

 

'Katsuki Yuri is once again surprising us! His love is simply too beautiful!'

 

_'I reached you, Victor.'_

 

_Final combination spin._

 

_A hand stretched towards love, towards Victor._

 

_He couldn't take it anymore, he ran towards Yuri. Yuri skated towards Victor. Closer. Closer. Closer!_

 

Another surprise, it wasn't the first, nor would it be the last. _A kiss under the spotlights, and their bodies falling on the ice. And the applause got louder, louder – they swam in an ocean of flowers, love, the shards slowly being covered in flowers, slowly being mended._

 

_'This was the only thing I could think of to surprise you more than you have surprised me.'_

 

_Petals all around them. Something they would remember on their wedding._

 

 _'Really?' Tender tones and rosy cheeks._ Victor thought he'd never find this again. This. This was love. _Those heartaches and failed romances were soon forgotten._

 

 

 

_*_

 

 

 

Every day, he felt blessed. When he could, he'd get Yuri flowers and chocolate and just showered him in kisses and affection.

 

'Hey boy, where did you get it from?' Yuri would ask him. Victor would simply get on one knee and kiss Yuri's hand, as if he was some knight in shining armor, carry him in his arms and spin him around. 

 

'I learned my passion in the good ol' fashioned school of lover boys!' They would laugh for what seemed like hours, and Victor wondered if this was what heaven felt like.

 

' _I will always love you, I will stay by your side in sickness and in health, until death do us apart. And though our bodies will perish and decay, my love for you never will. You made flowers bloom within my heart and gave me more love that I deserve. Yuri, when I saw you skating that day, you took my breath away. I will never be thankful enough to you, my dear, my darling, love of my life.' He took off Yuri's glove, and put the golden ring on his finger and kissed it. Yuri's beauty made him want to cry – he couldn't contain all these feelings inside him – all clad in white and rosy cheeks._

 

 

_Piano and violin mingling, flowers at their feet and around their wrists._

 

 

_'Victor, you have given me more love than I could ever have hoped for. I love you madly, and each and every flower you made bloom inside of me is a precious gift. I will always love you, I will stay by your side in sickness and in health, until death do us apart. And though our bodies will perish and decay, my love for you never will. You gave me back my passion, my love for skating and most of all you stayed by my side. And I know that you always will, Victor. My dear, my darling, love of my life.' He did the same as his lover – no, Husband. And the thought made new flowers bloom – and kissed his hand. Teary eyes met each other._

 

_Another kiss amidst thunderous applause._

 

 

Every day, no matter what, he thanked God and all the stars above for letting him being born in the same world as Yuri. For every day felt like heaven. Now, the sun had just risen from its slumber and soon enough, Yuri would wake up, but for now, he wanted to enjoy this quiet moment. His husband's quiet breaths –  _husband, even now he could barely believe that Yuri had said yes that day, how he had leaped into his arms crying yes and yes, over and over again –_ the sun kissing his skin, his head right on Victor's heart. For him it was as if they were young again – Victor was falling in love all over again,  _God_ he'd never get tired of this – he could still see that day, twenty years ago when he had asked Yuri his hand in marriage. Twenty years could seem like an eternity, yet for him it was as if he had just proposed the day before. 

 

_They threw the bouquet together. Otabek, who had been invited along with Yurio, caught it. Even though he kept his composure, you could see the faint blush. He handed the bouquet to his boyfriend – god they were thankful that Phichit was there to take picture, this was beyond adorable – refusing to look at Yurio. The whole crowd clapped. Victor and Yuri held each other – blissful, wanting to dance together forever, live forever – and god, it would soon be their little kitten's turn to find happiness._

 

_No._

 

_He already found happiness._

 

Yuri's hair had gotten longer with time, almost reaching his waist, and Victor  _loved it._ He didn't know how, but as time passed, Yuri got more and more beautiful, to the point that Victor couldn't believe that they were in their forties now. Being by Yuri's side made him forget the passing of time. For him, they were still coach and student, training to win gold at the Grand Prix Final. For him, they were still young – silly and drunk on love – lovers who just had their first kiss under the spotlights, cameras and the excited cheers of the crowd. For him, they had no wrinkles or aching bones. He felt like he was getting younger and younger, and was not on his way of becoming an old man.

 

For him they still were silly lover boys.

 

_Flowers growing around his mended heart – bouquet of roses in full bloom – and there he was smiling like a boy again._

 

He tightly hugged Yuri, overcome with happiness – for today was no ordinary day but it was a surprise – he just loved him so much. His ray of sunshine, his darling. 

 

_Yuri won gold. He was crying on the podium, as he held his medal for the world to see – a dazzling smile, crystals falling on his cheeks – before bowing out. His last performance ended in thunderous applause and tears of joy. And soon, they would be married. Fans were throwing roses and stuffed animals – their friends were overjoyed._

 

_If Yuri was crying, Victor was sobbing. Cheeks red, he kissed his fiancé once again in front of the whole world._

 

Before Yuri could wake up, he decided to get out of bed as silently as he could to make him breakfast. Yet as soon as he stood up, a hand grabbed his wrist and made him fall on the bed. _Hovering above him was Yuri – 'God_ _he still looks as beautiful as when we first met.'_ Yuri kissed his forehead. The sun was high in the sky. In this very moment, Victor felt blessed. _He was a man being graced by love, by the love of God. Was there a feeling that went beyond love, beyond adoration, beyond all bonds of affection? If there ever a word for it, Victor would love to know._

 

'Good morning, lover boy.'

 

'Good morning, darling.' They both chuckled at the silly nicknames. 'You just ruined my surprise, Yuri. I was going to make you breakfast.' Yuri stood up, putting on his glasses.

 

'And ruin another frying pan?'

 

'This happened only one time!' He still couldn't believe Yuri remembered that. It was mortifying. He had tried to make him breakfast for his thirtieth birthday and had accidentally broken a frying pan. God how Yurio had made fun of him that day.  _How_ hard  _Yuri had laughed that day._

 

 

_'I can't believe you broke a frying pan while trying to make an omelet! Oh god, what a fucking idiot!' Yurio was pratically cackling on the sofa. 'And how many eggs did you use to make such a mess?' He had won another competition, and spent the night at their apartment. With time, Yuri and him had gotten so close, Victor was almost starting to regret it. While he loved to see them smile, he just couldn't take it when they both teamed up against him. Yurio had gotten so close to Yuri that when he had his first crush, he called Yuri to ask for advice and not him. He almost felt offended. God, this was so embarrassing. He was thankful that Phichit wasn't there._

 

 

_He wouldn't put it past the guy to post it on SNS for the hell of it._

 

 

_'Now – now Yurio, that's no way of speaking to your father!' Yuri couldn't breathe and was cackling just as much as Yurio. They had tears in their eyes from the laugher. Victor – always keeping his cool – lost it. Such laugher was contagious. He let the frying pan – or rather, its pieces – fall on the ground. When he stopped, he noticed that they still were making fun of him. He smirked. So they wanted to have a good laugh, uh? He would give them a good laugh then. He leaped at them, tackling them both on the sofa. Soon they were both gasping for air, begging Victor to stop tickling them._

 

Before handing to the kitchen, Victor took Yuri's hand and kissed it.

 

_Victor held Yuri's gloved hand. All clad in white. They danced under the rain – it was supposed to be sunny on this special day but they couldn't care less – dancing under the rain was so cliché, but Yuri knew what he signed up for when he said 'I do, oh god yes, I do.' Water on their suits – Yurio complaining in the background, until Otabek used his jacket to shield them both and planted a kiss on his forehead. They just sang and danced in the rain – Phichit never missing an occasion to take pictures – laugher and complains all around them._

 

_Victor felt so blessed._

 

_He didn't know what he did to deserve so much._

 

_To be with this dazzling man. To be his friend, his coach, his lover, his fiancé, his husband._

 

_His soulmate._

 

'Happy anniversary, love.' He planted a second kiss on the golden ring. 'When I'm not with you, 'think of you always. I love you. Thank you for making me the happiest man on earth, Yura.' If he had been younger, Yuri would probably have been embarrassed beyond belief. Yet now, he only felt more flowers bloom – roses in full bloom, a gorgeous bouquet – and he only felt at peace, feeling the oh so familiar warmth that always came with Victor's words. 'Wanna get married?' He winked at Yuri –  _Victor didn't age, he didn't age at all, this lover boy. Had it truly been twenty years since they met? It all went by in the blink of an eye. It all went by so fast._

 

 

'Hey boy'  _I am the lucky one Vitya._ 'Where did you get that passion from?' He kissed Victor's cheek. 

 

'I learned my passion at the good ol' fashioned school of lover boys!' Victor returned the favor. 'Come on love, I'll brush your hair.'

 

Such a good way to start the day.

 

_Silly pet names and fond memories. Daydreaming and a blissful life._

 

_They felt immortal._

 

 

 

 

'What do you want me to do for you today?' Victor was brushing Yuri's hair. ' I can sing you songs full of sad things, we can do the tango just for two...'  _Oh there he goes again like a good old fashioned lover boy._

 

'I'd like for you and I to go romancing.' Victor wrapped his arms around Yuri's shoulders and let his chin rest on Yuri's head. 'Surprise me.' Eyes closed, faint smile and rosy cheeks. They were in their twenties again. 'You never fail to surprise me after all.'

 

'You wish is my command.'  _Like the lyrics, like the notes of a song, they knew it all by heart. I love you's weren't enough. They never were._ He kept on brushing the dark locks, taking his time. After all, they weren't working on Sundays. After both bowing out of the skating world, they opened their own rink and were teaching young children how to skate. When Yurio was still skating, they even choreographed the routines that made him win his last Olympic games. Even if they stopped skating professionally, they never stopped loving the sport and the joy it brought them. The children at the rink were always eager to learn new jumps, improve, but most of all they loved their teachers so much. One of them had even called Yuri 'dad' by accident. 

 

They loved their children, even though they already had a son of their own.

 

A grumpy, lovely, son who despite being in his thirties and an accomplished coach, would always be the fifteen year old kitten who had ran away when Yuri had tried to hug him.

 

_'Leave me alone! Don't you get near me!' He was running as fast as he could, and while he would never – ever – admit it, he was having fun. But only a little bit. Because right now, this damn piglet – and again he would never admit that he saw him as a friend – was following him like some sort of zombie. Yuri was following suit – his hands stretched out with a silly grin on his face – ready to hug him until he crushed his bones. When Yuri won his first world medal, he did manage to hug him. And though their dear kitten denied it, he was the one who threw himself in their arms. Even Otabek, who was usually much more composed, joined them._

 

_This was family. Yuri's parents, all the other skaters, Victor, Yuri. This was the definition of family._

 

_Yurio had cried so much._

 

_Not as much as during his own wedding – and he was the one who proposed to Otabek to boot – though._

 

Yuri smiled at the fond memory.

 

_'Oh love'_

 

Once Victor was done he decided to turn Yuri around to admire his work.

 

Perfect. As usual, no matter the hairstyle, Yuri was beautiful.

 

_I can't believe he's real. And we've been together for years – and God, I never believed in you but Yuri makes me want to believe in miracles – I feel like a child again._ In a way they never grew up and they never would. They simply stayed in their kitchen, making breakfast together and singing silly love songs. They didn't care about their age, there was no age to love like good old fashioned lover boys. 

 

_Stephanotis. Yellow tulips. Growing more and more numerous as days went by. Sunshine and happiness. Victor loved it when they bloomed around his heart – ever since he met Yuri, only beautiful flowers bloomed and soon, he forgot that his heart was once a pile of glass shards, constantly cutting him and hurting him._

_Yuri's smile was like sunshine, and he could never get enough of it._

 

'Ah, Vitya?' Yuri's voice woke him up from his daydreaming. 'Would you mind waiting here for a few minutes?' Victor was puzzled.

 

'Sure, love-' before he could finish his sentence, Yuri ran back to their room –  _he never fails to surprise me so i'll surprise him too._ He went to the kitchen and retrieved the small box he had hidden there the day before and put it in his pocket. When he returned to the living room, Yuri welcomed him with a similar box. 

 

 

'Happy anniversary, Vitya.'  _More tulips around glass hearts. I hope Victor likes it, I was never good with gifts. He felt silly. It's not as if he hadn't changed in twenty years, yet Victor made him young again. As if only their bodies aged but their glass hearts were still frozen in time._ He took the box – the same way an excited child would grab his christmas present – and opened it. A small pendant was resting inside it, a simple glass heart with a rose inside. 'Do you like it? I didn't know what to get you, and you've been better than me when it comes to-' Victor hugged him before he could say more. His arms wrapped around his husband's shoulder, Victor let new flowers grow and bloom. Yuri smoothed his husband's hair, as if soothing a child. He didn't know that he would love it so much. He noticed a wet spot forming on his shirt.  _Oh dear._ 'Victor, are you crying?' 

 

 

_The day he became the world champion. Gold around his neck. Tears rolling down his cheeks and this gorgeous smile. Victor spinning him around. Phichit's embrace._

 

 

'Of happiness, Yura. Of happiness.' A soft whisper that pulled at Yuri's heartstrings. 'I can't believe I am so lucky.'

 

'If you're lucky to have me, then I am blessed to have you, you silly old man.'  _A little, tiny, peaceful smile and eyes closed._

 

_A little seaside rendezvous. Victor had surprised him again, having their tenth wedding anniversary in Hasetsu. 'I pay the bill, you taste the wine.' It was just them and old Makkachin. Wine, good food and even better company. Dancing the tango just for two. One step, two steps, three steps – Yuri held Victor, a hand on a, the other holding his back. Their laugher mingling with the sound of waves crashing on the sand. Makkachin pushing them on the sand. Their dear dog licked them and they just ended up staying like this, covered in sand – Yuri kissing Victor and Victor planting kisses all over his husband's face, for him it was as if they had just gotten engaged. He could barely believe they were husbands._

 

 

_He was married to love itself._

 

_This was what it felt like._

 

_Carnations. Divine Love. A flick of Yuri's wrist and he was dead._

 

 

'Yuri!' Victor tightened his hug, whining.

 

'God your whining never change.' a sigh –  _flowers here to stay –_ an d he could stay like this for ever, in Victor's arms. His husband let go of him, and pulled out a box out of his pocket. 'Vitya...another surprise?' He took the box and opened it. 'Oh dear, we know each other too well.' Inside was a pendant identical to the one he had just given to Victor. He put the box on the coffee table, yet as he did so, a note and a ring fell from it. Under Victor's gaze, he picked them up. 

 

 

_'Marry me?'_

 

 

The sound of Yuri's laugher alone was enough to light up the whole world. This was the reaction Victor wanted – this beautiful warmth within his soul, and sunflowers growing at their feet and hearts – and god he'd never get tired of it.

 

'Victor?'

 

'Yes, love?' He couldn't contain the amusement in his voice.

 

'We've been married for twenty years already.' Victor put the ring on his finger, and kissed it.

 

'I know and I  _love_ it. If I could, I'd ask you to marry me a hundred times.' 

 

_Another good day of daydreaming._

 

 

_*_

 

 

 

_'I've paid my dues, time after time.' He could see himself – as child skating for the first time. The ice under his feet and the music. All of it. How he looked up to Victor, and how he still does now. His idol. His friend. His coach. His husband. He never thought he'd come this far. The olympics, together with his husband. This would be his swan song, he knew it would be. Afterwards, he'd take his bow. It was strange, to think that this would be his last curtain call. He arrived this far, with Victor by his side. The spotlights, the glitter, all of it. Today was his goodbye to the skating world, and he'll give a proper one. A goodbye from him, with love. Victor may be his one and only, but skating was also his first love. It was skating that brought them together. Flowers around his heart, body and soul – and a ring on his finger – he walked towards the rink to get ready._

 

 

They were old men petting their dog and listening to silly love songs. They had been married for god knows how long. Victor's eyesight had gotten worse with time so he wore glasses now. Yuri's hair was as white as snow. _We match now, Yura! How Yuri had laughed. Even as Victor became older and older, he didn't change. He was silly all the time, an absolute ray of sunshine._ They were the champions. No matter what people said, they were champions. They paid their dues – and god their life had been no bed of roses – but they conquered all obstacles. They were old men, yet deep down, they still thought of themselves as the poor heartbroken skater and the drunken beauty who danced until their feet hurt from the passion and their mouths from the laugher.

 

 

Even with wrinkles and aching bones, Victor still found Yuri as beautiful as ever. He always told him so. And Yuri would always call him Vitya with such adoration, such love. It's as if they hadn't aged. _In their minds, they still were those two silly boys who kissed on international television. In their minds, they were immortal._

 

 

Would they do it again if given the choice?

 

 

Absolutely.

 

 

_Victor took his hand and kissed the ring on his finger. 'You can do it, Yuri. You're the champion here.' Yuri could still remember his failures, how many times he was mocked and hated as the man who took Victor away from the whole world. 'I know. I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through.' If he wasn't trying to keep his composure, he'd cry on the spot. Yuri, as gorgeous as ever, wearing the costume that brought them together at last. All in blue and glitter. His long hair tied up and his golden ring – their eternal promise. They had come a long way. They fought, they cried, they won and they lost. Victor let his hair grow, finally letting this love mend his broken heart. He felt at peace with himself, after all this time._

 

_This wasn't just Yuri's swan song._

 

_This was their swan song, the last dance they'd share with the whole world. He held Yuri's hands._

 

_'I love you, Yuri. You're so beautiful, you will seduce them all like you seduced me.' Yuri cupped his face. He kissed him, a simple kiss, a single flower. Soon, he'd have to skate. Soon it will be the end of an adventure and the beginning of another.' And we can love forever. And we can have forever. This is our last dance.' And this is our last chance. Our last chance to impress the whole world one last time. The lights got brighter, they called Yuri's name. He wrapped his arms around Victor's shoulders before skating towards the ice rink's center._

 

_'Representing Japan, Katsuki Yuri!'_

 

_'He'll be skating to Kyoutenka, composed by Motoi Sakuraba.'_

 

They were in their forties dancing under the rain, like during their wedding. Suddenly Victor was a bullfighter and Yuri was the bull, both of them flushed and laughing and god, they were beyond happy. They fought and they loved and they cried and they laughed and they danced. Repeat. Every day was a surprise, every day was a new adventure. They shared their love with young, passionate skaters and with other every single day of their lives. They couldn't care less about aging. With each other they were lover boys and young skaters at the peak of their careers. They were children, teenagers, newlyweds all at once. One step after the other – hands brushing and laugher echoing – they didn't feel the cold, only the flowers and warmth within their hearts. This was heaven.

 

They wouldn't change anything for the world.

 

_The original song was too long, so he only used the second half. As soon as the first notes started, Yuri stopped thinking. He let the music move his body as he created new notes with his hands, his legs, his fingers and his soul. Blue, glitter, a smile. Footworks. He was letting himself go, he was seducing the world one last time before saying goodbye. Combination spin – the sound of blades on the ice, spinning, gliding - a spread eagle and a jump. Perfect landing. Everything was perfect. He knew how to end this. He landed his quadruple salchow – he couldn't help smiling, for the first time he wasn't nervous, he felt at peace on the ice – he could feel Victor's gaze on him. His voice calling his name and encouraging him and just look how well you're doing love, how beautiful you are. You're the champion, Yuri. Yuri wanted to kiss him on the spot. 'I need to carry on and on and on!' This was his last performance, he needed to make it spectacular._

 

 

_His career hadn't been a bed of roses, nor pleasure cruise._

 

_But now, with Victor by his side, they were the champions of the world._

 

 

Barcelona, two rings exchanged – a vow to love each other for the rest of their lives, in sickness and in health – a surprise and a smile. The happiest day of their lives – and god the flowers at their feet, on their hearts, lips and legs – and they wanted to share it with the whole world. Words weren't enough, they never would be. They could scream it on rooftops, write odes and poems, sing songs about it and it wouldn't be enough. It never would be enough.

 

 

It was the kind of love that was beyond love. The kind of love that made you want to laugh all the time, that gave you enough strength to survive and made you want to share it with the whole world – _this divine love that gave you wings, dancing on the blades you set my heart on fire –_ and god you felt like a drunk who never had enough. They could never get enough of the other. _A kiss shared under the stars – the chorus, the christmas songs and the falling snow, the lights. Everything was perfect._

 

 

Saint-Petersburg, a cold winter and Victor dancing once again all alone. No mother, no father, no sister, no brother, no lover. But he had the ice to himself. He leapt and flew with the angels, his long hair like a pool of silver. A smile on his lips – _he wanted to find love, but for now he spent his time with his beloved ice and his dear snow –_ he held the stars in his eyes and in his hands. No one could see him, he danced under the moonlight, abandoning love yet wishing to find it again.

 

 

_The end of his program was near, he'd soon know if his goodbye was as spectacular as he had wanted it to be. Faster, you're the champion. We are the champions, my friend, my lover – combination spin, wonderful and stellar, soon he would do his last jump on his beloved ice, the one that brought them together – my husband, my soulmate. He was going to give it his all. One last surprise before bowing out, one last confession on the ice. Every time he glided on the ice, he'd leave it to the next generation of loving skaters._

 

_Faster._

 

_Faster._

 

_Faster!_

 

Hasetsu, a long summer night and he wasn't dancing all alone. Sparklers in their hands – the sand under their feet, and the moon watching over them – Yuri's blissful smile, leaping and jumping. It was as if he was holding the stars themselves in his hands. He was beautiful. He was gorgeous. He was out of this world. They danced together with their boy – creating patterns and new stars with their light. _Victor could see his younger self dancing along with Yuri and Yurio. And he knew. This was peace. This was love._

 

 

_This would be his last combination spin – with the light of the heavens illuminating him, wishing him well and goodbye Yuri – he skated towards the center and spun. The last notes could be heard. He wanted to cry. This was the end of an adventure, a wonderful one. But this was his last curtain call, his last performance on the stage. And so he spun. Faster and faster and faster. Victor just watched him with tears in his eyes. 'This was perfect, Yura. This was absolutely perfect.'_

 

 

_A hand stretched out towards his husband, a dazzling, teary eyed smile. Bouquets were thrown on the ice. The whole audience was on the verge of tears. Because they all knew, the moment Yuri stepped on the ice, that this would be his goodbye._

 

 

_Victor ran to him, spinning him around, and covering him in kiss – that was it, the grand finale – in thunderous applause. They all knew he won gold. Gold around his neck and gold around his finger. Victor kissed him once again in front of the whole world. They knew what they needed to do. They held hands on the podium, let those seeds grow within their hands and finally returned the favor._

 

_One last bow._

 

_Dreams of the past, the present and the future._

And a bouquet of roses in full bloom, the symbol of gratitude.

 

_Thank you for all you've done._

 

_A smile exchanged between two lovers, the end of an adventure and..._

 

_...the beginning of another._

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can send me a message on tumblr, if you want! I don't bite and I love talking to people! :  
> realm-of-spells.tumblr.com 
> 
> A review is always welcome!


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